Picking Parsnips, Celeriac, and Carrots
Do you know... some vegetables taste even better after a frost? Many root vegetables are best when harvested in colder weather.
Here at my farm, many of the raised beds in my vegetable garden have been cleared and cleaned for winter, but a few beds still continue to thrive with fall carrots, parsnips, and one of my favorites, celeriac. These vegetables take the longest to reach maturity - about four months, but when they're finally picked, they're so delicious.
Enjoy these photos.
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- My half acre garden has produced bounties of wonderful vegetables this year. Even now that the weather is colder, we’re still able to harvest delicious organic produce.
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- Among them, celeriac – also known as celery root, knob celery, and turnip-rooted celery. It is a variety of celery; however, while celery is grown for its succulent stalk and foliage, celeriac is cultivated for its edible and bulbous stem or hypocotyl, and shoots.
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- Ryan uses this straight edged harvesting knife to cut off the long leafy stalks and reveal the celeriac.
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- Celeriac has many small roots, so it is sometimes hard to pull from the ground. Once picked, Wendy cuts off the stringy roots from the bottom of the celeriac ball.
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- The celeriac should be clean of any roots at the bottom. These vegetables are big – about the size of one’s palm. The flavor is very mild, slightly sweet and nutty, and doesn’t have any bitterness.
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- The leaves of celeriac are also edible and can be chopped finely and used as a garnish or to flavor soups and stocks.
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- Ryan and Wendy harvested an entire bed and a half of delicious celeriac.
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- They also picked a good number of autumn carrots. These are sweeter than summer carrots because they matured in cooler conditions. Carrots convert stored starches into sugars to protect themselves from freezing. This process makes them sweeter and tastier.
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- Ryan cuts off the tops leaving about two to three inches on each carrot.
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- Carrots come in many colors, including orange, purple, red, white, and yellow.
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- Next, Ryan moves to another bed to loosen the parsnips from the soil. Ryan is careful when he uses the pitchfork – one does not want to pierce the parsnips if possible.
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- Once the soil surrounding the parsnips is loosened, Ryan pulls each parsnip carefully, much like harvesting carrots.
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- Here, a glimpse of what is to come out – looks like a big parsnip.
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- The parsnip is closely related to carrot and parsley, all belonging to the flowering plant family Apiaceae.
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- Parsnips have broad, hairless, ovate, compound pinnate leaves, up to six inches in length. These leaves and the stems can also be eaten or used to flavor soups and stews. Parsnips that are about eight to 10-inches long are the best tasting. They have thicker skin and a woodier center compared to carrots, but they are delicious cooked.
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- All the freshly picked vegetables are brought up to my flower room where they are cleaned and stored.
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- Elvira washes all the soil off the carrots – a good rinse is all these need.
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- When cleaning parsnips, wash them under cool running water using a vegetable brush. Never use soap. Once they are clean, they can be wrapped in paper towel and stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
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- What a bounty of colorful and flavorful vegetables. They’ll be stored in the refrigerator until I can cook them.
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- Celeriac is a concentrated source of many nutrients, including vitamins C, K, B6, potassium, phosphorous, and fiber. I will make some delicious soup out of these. The celeriac is also scrubbed thoroughly and placed into the refrigerator. I am always so excited to see what comes out of the garden. If you haven’t tasted them yet, give parsnips and celeriac a try – you’ll be glad you did.
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